Latin for Learners: 08.03.24: Ora Maritima

[Ora Maritima: Sonnenschein (1902)]

Monumenta antiqua

Agellus patruī meī in Cantiō est, inter Dubrās et Rutupiās situs. Dubrae et Rutupiae oppida antīqua sunt. Multa sunt monumenta antīqua in Britanniā, multa vestīgia Rōmānōrum. Reliquiae villārum, oppidōrum, amphitheātrōrum Rōmānōrum hodiē exstant. Multae viae Rōmānae in Britanniā sunt. In Cantiō est via Rōmāna inter Rutupiās et Londinium. Solum Britannicum multōs nummōs aureōs, argenteōs, aēneōs et Britannōrum et Rōmānōrum occultat. Rusticīs nummī saepe sunt causa lucrī, cum arant vel fundāmenta aedificiōrum antīquōrum excavant. Nam nummōs antīquōs magnō pretiō vēnumdant. Patruō meō magnus numerus est nummōrum Rōmānōrum.

Vocabulary

monumentum: monument

situs, -a, -um: situated

vestīgium: vestige, trace

reliquiae: relics; 1st declension but almost always plural

exstāre: exist, remain

solum: soil

nummus: coin

Britannus: a Briton

occultāre: to hide

causa: cause, source

lucrum: gain; profit

fundāmentum: foundations

excavāre: excavate

pretium: price

vēnumdare: to offer for sale

Notes

[1] Town names in Roman Britain:

Although Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BCE as part of his Gallic Wars, it did not become a Roman province until 43CE, the occupation lasting until 410CE.

There are many place names in Britain which originally had different Roman names:

Cantium: Kent; the name is believed to be of Celtic origin but Roman sources referred to the location as Cantium or Cantia

Londinium: London; capital of Roman Britain during most of Roman rule

Eboracum: York; largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital

Camulodunum: Colchester; first capital of Roman Britain

Some town names in Latin are plural:

Dubrae: Dover

Rutupiae: Richborough

Athēnae: Athens

These place names have plural endings in all cases.

inter + accusative: inter Dubrās et Rutipiās (between Dover and Richborough)

[2] magnō pretiō: at a great price; this is one of many uses of the ablative case and it is worth noting these uses as you come across them. This, unsurprisingly, is known as the ablative of price i.e. when something is sold at a certain price, that price is expressed in the ablative case

[3] 2 uses of the dative:

[i] Rusticīs nummī saepe sunt causa lucrī. The coins are often a source of profit for the people living in the countryside. The dative can express for whose benefit something exists or is done.

[ii] dative of possession: patruō meō est… [literally: to my uncle there is…] = my uncle has…

[4] adjectives of material

From the text:

aureus, -a, um: golden; made of gold

argenteus, -a, -um: silver; made of silver

aēneus, -a, -um: copper; made of copper

suffix: -eus

Most adjectives referring to material are created by the combination of the noun + the suffix -eus, -a, -um i.e. a 1st/ 2nd declension adjective which indicates ‘made of’; some of the adjectives e.g. aureus and argenteus can refer to the material or the colour.

aes: copper; bronze > aēneus, -a, -um : (made of) copper; bronze

argentum: silver > argenteus: made of silver; silver-coloured

aurum: gold > aureus: made of gold; gold-coloured

ferrum: iron > ferreus: (made of) iron

lāna: wool > lāneus: woollen

although not obvious from statues or images, togas were made of wool

lignum: firewood > ligneus: wooden

wood used for building was known as materia

marmor: marble > marmoreus : (made of) marble

plumbum: lead > plumbeus: (made of) lead

saxum: rock; stone > saxeus: rocky; stony; of rock

scortum: skin; hide > scorteus: leather